Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng negotiated with the Dead Sea Forbidden Ground, securing its agreement not to aid the Ancient Primordial People in exchange for staying out of their conflict. He learned that Scholar had betrayed the front lines alongside the Forbidden Grounds, but Scholar’s mysterious death remained unexplained, so Chen Changsheng left to question the Four Great Emperors.

• Chen Changsheng refused to surrender the God-Slaying Weapons and warned the Dead Sea Forbidden Ground that killing him would leave the Ancient Primordial People unchecked.
• Chen Changsheng asked the Forbidden Ground to stay out of his conflict with the Ancient Primordial People and sought information about Scholar’s death; it agreed not to aid the Four Brahma Three Realms.
• Chen Changsheng learned that the Forbidden Grounds had betrayed the front lines and that Scholar had made agreements with the Ancient Primordial People to protect certain Forbidden Grounds.
• The figures said they did not know why Scholar died and suspected the Ancient Primordial People, since Scholar alone handled contact between the sides.
• Chen Changsheng learned that only the Four Great Emperors of the Four Brahma Heavens knew about Scholar’s dealings, then left to capture and question them.

After the System urged Chen Changsheng to examine Scholar’s death from other perspectives, he asked Wang Hao and Ye Yongxian for their theories. They both suggested the Ancient Primordial People could be involved, while Ye Yongxian argued Chen Changsheng himself must also be connected because Scholar likely left clues for him.

• The System told Chen Changsheng that his own perspective might be preventing him from seeing the truth behind Scholar’s death.
• Chen Changsheng gave Wang Hao the Star Essence and asked him who might have been involved in Scholar’s death.
• Wang Hao ruled out the Ancient Primordial People as likely killers but said they could have driven Scholar to suicide, along with Desolate Heaven Emperor Wu Li.
• Ye Yongxian named the Ancient Primordial People and Chen Changsheng as suspects, reasoning that Scholar likely left clues for Chen Changsheng to find.
• Wang Hao agreed that Scholar would have expected Chen Changsheng to drive others away and investigate alone, though neither he nor Ye Yongxian had anticipated Chen Changsheng would target an entire era.

Chen Changsheng changed the order of his plans and revealed that the Locust Plan was a vast network of puppet strongholds created by Ao Chuang. Wang Hao and Ye Yongxian learned how the network could rapidly reinforce them and strike enemies across the era, while Chen Changsheng hinted that its greatest strength remained undisclosed.

• After hearing Ye Yongxian explain why the Ancient Primordial People were suspected in Supreme Sage's fall, Chen Changsheng decided to launch the Locust Plan before the Nirvana Plan.
• Chen Changsheng brought Wang Hao and Ye Yongxian to a Locust Plan stronghold and revealed that 3,827 strongholds existed across the era.
• Chen Changsheng introduced Luo Kai, renamed Ao Chuang, as the creator of the Locust Plan, and Ao Chuang gave Wang Hao and Ye Yongxian special communicators.
• Ao Chuang explained that the strongholds could send puppet reinforcements within twelve hours and launch ranged attacks throughout the era using coordinates.
• Wang Hao and Ye Yongxian were stunned by the plan's capabilities, and Chen Changsheng asked whether they wanted to know its true strength.

Chen Changsheng explained how the Locust Plan would use puppet warfare and cultivators’ consumption of spiritual energy to weaken entire worlds, then sent a clone to infiltrate the Four Brahma Three Realms. There, the Heavenly Emperors debated how to deal with the Undertaker but struggled to determine how to find him.

• Chen Changsheng explained that the Locust Plan would spread spiritual energy thin across the era while puppets and Spirit Liquid production accelerated the collapse of worlds.
• Wang Hao recognized that the true Locust Army was the cultivators whose habits the Sky Abyss World had fostered, and Chen Changsheng confirmed that his revenge plans relied on it.
• Chen Changsheng refused to reveal the Nirvana Plan and placed Wang Hao, Ye Yongxian, and Chen Changsheng in charge of the coming Locust Plan.
• Chen Changsheng used his Bronze Life Lamp to create a True Self Realm clone and announced that he would infiltrate the Four Brahma Three Realms.
• At a gathering of twenty-eight Heavenly Emperors, Great Emperor Haotian asked how to respond to the Undertaker’s attacks, and the assembled emperors debated the difficulty of finding him in the boundless void.

The Four Brahma Three Realms’ rulers debated how to counter the Undertaker and decided to restart the epoch and consolidate the Mandate of Heaven. The Undertaker’s puppet delivered a Declaration of War, which Great Emperor Haotian accepted, leaving the Four Brahma Three Realms suspecting a traitor among them.

• Profound Embryo Heavenly Emperor urged a peaceful discussion with the Undertaker, while Jade Completion Heavenly Emperor and another Heavenly Emperor argued over the threat he posed.
• Great Emperor Haotian warned that the Undertaker had raised five Emperors and many quasi-Emperor experts, but said the Four Brahma Three Realms must not fall into chaos.
• Profound Embryo Heavenly Emperor asked how they should respond, and Great Emperor Haotian said he and Brahma Great Emperor planned to restart the epoch and consolidate the Mandate of Heaven.
• Brahma Great Emperor proposed using both rewards and force toward the Emperor-level powers already in the epoch, rather than treating them all as enemies.
• The Undertaker’s puppet delivered a Declaration of War, and Great Emperor Haotian accepted it; Brahma Great Emperor set a condition that Heavenly Emperor cultivators would not intervene and that the Undertaker would enter ten thousand years of seclusion if defeated.
• The puppet revealed that its Divine Sense Realm had been severed from the Undertaker, then fell apart, prompting the Four Great Emperors to suspect a traitor before one ordered them to end their mutual suspicion.

The Undertaker’s war against the Four Brahma Three Realms raged for two years before he possessed the dying Chang Sheng to gain a foothold in Great Bright Heaven. Chang Sheng’s friends believed he had survived the battlefield, while Cao Muzi warned that he might not wake for years.

• The Four Great Emperors discussed the Supreme Sage’s unexplained death and agreed that the Undertaker likely had not discovered its cause.
• The Four Brahma Three Realms divided into thirty-two Great Worlds, and the Undertaker’s puppet armies began a war that lasted two years.
• On the Great Bright Heaven Battlefield, the dying Chang Sheng agreed to give the Undertaker his body in exchange for protecting his mother and Xiao Qing.
• The Undertaker, revealed as Chen Changsheng, possessed Chang Sheng and promised to honor their bargain.
• Jiang Bo Yue found Chang Sheng and carried him back to Great Bright Heaven, where Cao Muzi healed most of his injuries.
• Cao Muzi told Jiang Bo Yue and the others that Chang Sheng’s damaged divine sense could keep him unconscious for anywhere from three days to three years.

After possessing Little Wood, Chen Changsheng entered Great Bright Heaven’s camp and learned that Jiang Bo Yue had located a major Undertaker stronghold. The group prepared to attack the site, where at least three hundred thousand puppets were gathered.

• In the Divine Sense Realm, Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that he had possessed him because they shared a name and warned him not to interfere with his plans or Xiao Qing would die.
• Chen Changsheng woke in Little Wood’s body, left the residence Miao Shi had given him, and agreed to accompany Miao Shi to the main camp.
• At the command tent, Jiang Bo Yue explained that the Undertaker’s puppet army was steadily wearing down Great Bright Heaven’s forces.
• Jiang Bo Yue revealed that markers he had planted around the region had detected activity concentrated at one location, indicating an important stronghold with at least three hundred thousand puppets.
• Jiang Bo Yue proposed destroying the stronghold to disrupt the Undertaker’s puppet production.

Chen Changsheng challenged Jiang Boyue’s plan to attack a suspected Undertaker lair and proposed a risky alternative that would avoid taking responsibility for an unauthorized assault. He suggested sending an elite squad to investigate, then framing any ensuing attack as a rescue mission.

• While Jiang Boyue explained his plan, Chen Changsheng privately told Little Wood that the Undertaker could kill everyone at the stronghold if he wanted.
• Chen Changsheng warned the gathered officers that the suspected lair might be a trap and that their forces could not safely overcome the puppet army or the Undertaker.
• Jiang Boyue agreed the operation was risky and proposed reporting the intelligence to Great Bright Heaven, but Chen Changsheng argued that doing so would cost them merit and expose them to blame if the intelligence were wrong.
• Miao Shi invited Chen Changsheng to present his ideas, and Jiang Boyue brought him to the map.
• Chen Changsheng proposed sending an elite squad to investigate and having the surrounding forces attack only to rescue their comrades, while publicly describing the mission as an investigation of an unusual region.

Chen Changsheng argued that his army could earn recognition through battlefield achievements and advised Jiang Boyue to remain in command rather than join the elite squad. He then challenged Little Wood’s faith in his allies by describing the army’s cruel realities, while revealing that the enemy stronghold was Undertaker’s true-body lair and that he intended to help them.

• Miao Shi praised Chen Changsheng’s plan, and the army applauded their chance to earn merit and prove themselves.
• Jiang Boyue visited Chen Changsheng, who explained that surviving death had changed his outlook and that the army needed to outperform the other imperial sons.
• Chen Changsheng urged Jiang Boyue to stay behind as a strategist, arguing that Miao Shi needed him to coordinate the army during battle.
• After Jiang Boyue left, Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that envy and social status shaped their allies’ treatment of him, and questioned why Xiao Qing remained a palace maid.
• Little Wood learned that the discovered stronghold housed Undertaker’s true body, but Undertaker said he was unafraid and would help the army rise so he could gain access to greater powers.

Chen Changsheng taunted Little Wood about his plans to use Little Wood’s body and exploit his insecurities, arguing that Little Wood had never truly resisted him. Little Wood remained determined to protect the Four Brahma Three Realms, but Chen Changsheng offered to fulfill his ambitions for him, leaving their struggle unresolved.

• Little Wood warned Chen Changsheng that using his body would draw suspicion from the Four Brahma Three Realms’ leaders, but Chen Changsheng explained that they were too occupied to investigate and that he could leave Great Bright Heaven if needed.
• Chen Changsheng argued that Jiang Bo Yue and Shi could suspect him but would lack evidence to expose or kill him.
• Chen Changsheng accused Little Wood of risking his life in the battle of positions because he craved recognition, and Little Wood denied having an obsession.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that his insecurity had kept him from marrying Xiao Qing and that he enjoyed being the center of attention.
• Little Wood insisted that he wanted recognition but never intended to harm anyone and would protect the Four Brahma Three Realms.
• Chen Changsheng pointed out that Little Wood had not stopped him from controlling the body, then promised to provide talent, cultivation, military achievements, and status so Little Wood could enjoy the rewards.

Chen Changsheng called Little Wood “trash” and forced him to choose between exposing Chen Changsheng’s schemes or helping him become a ruthless overlord. Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng led Miao Shi’s squad toward the Undertaker’s lair, then rested at one of his own strongholds and hinted at a heaven-sent opportunity for Little Wood.

• Chen Changsheng rejected Little Wood’s defiance, accused him of being proud yet cowardly, and challenged him to prove otherwise by choosing whether to reveal the truth or help complete the plan.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood he would return control of the body at special moments and warned that refusing to choose would prove he was trash.
• Chen Changsheng advised Miao Shi’s ten-person squad to split up near the boundary and prioritize finding the Undertaker’s lair, and Miao Shi agreed.
• Chen Changsheng sent Miao Shi along the route Jiang Bo Yue had calculated, while Miao Shi privately wondered how Chang Sheng had changed despite seeming to retain his memories and habits.
• After leaving Miao Shi’s view, Chen Changsheng rested on a void meteorite at one of his strongholds and told Little Wood that destroying strongholds would not defeat him.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood he had prepared a heaven-sent opportunity for him.

Chen Changsheng gave Little Wood the chance to expose him and destroy the puppet-control artifact, then removed his control and sent him to warn Miao Shi. Little Wood reached Miao Shi after the battle began, and Chen Changsheng offered to help him fight by sharing control authority.

• Chen Changsheng showed Little Wood the Cave Heaven inside the meteorite and revealed the artifact controlling the puppets attacking Great Bright Heaven.
• Chen Changsheng returned control of his body, removed his control over Little Wood, and gave him the Bronze Life Lamp to take back to Great Bright Heaven.
• Through the Life Lamp, Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that Miao Shi would reach a puppet stronghold and urged him to reveal the truth to Miao Shi.
• Little Wood arrived three hours later as Miao Shi fought a swarm of puppets, then charged into the battle after Chen Changsheng taunted him.
• A puppet spared Little Wood's vital points, and Chen Changsheng offered to share control authority so Little Wood could fight the puppet army.

Little Wood fought the Heavenly Immortal Realm puppet while Chen Changsheng secretly guided him, and Miao Shi’s suspicions that Chang Sheng had been possessed eased. After Little Wood absorbed the Bronze Life Lamp, he agreed to help Chen Changsheng expose his true body’s location without taking the mission’s greatest credit.

• Little Wood briefly damaged the Heavenly Immortal Realm puppet with a sword-infused fist technique, then fell behind again, convincing Miao Shi that Chang Sheng’s odd behavior was not possession.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood to keep charging and hold tightly to his weapon, and Little Wood struck the puppet’s weak point while badly injured.
• Miao Shi copied the attack, destroyed his puppet, rescued Little Wood, and praised him for discovering the weakness while promising to seek an imperial decree for his marriage to Xiao Qing.
• Little Wood resented Miao Shi’s treatment and absorbed the Bronze Life Lamp, then told Chen Changsheng he would not betray his companions.
• Chen Changsheng asked Little Wood to guide Miao Shi toward the location of his true body, explaining that Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue had to receive the mission’s greatest credit.

Chen Changsheng explained how Little Wood could stand out in Great Bright Heaven’s succession struggle and secretly taught him to split his attention while fighting. After learning that the Undertaker had appeared near the Imperial Son, Miao Shan suspected someone was manipulating events and went to investigate.

• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that his humble starting point could make his achievements more striking than those of Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that Little Wood had learned to split his attention and said he had uncovered new information about Little Wood’s origins.
• A messenger told Miao Shan that the Imperial Son and the East Palace Guard were surrounded by a Puppet Legion, with the Undertaker apparently present.
• Miao Shan ordered the Marquis of West Township to rescue the Imperial Son and ensure his safety.
• Miao Shan concluded that someone had secretly arranged the incident and flew into the depths of Great Bright Heaven to pursue them.

Miao Shi destroyed Chen Changsheng’s puppet-making artifact, but Chen Changsheng’s attack was halted by Zhang Zhi and Miao Shan, who forced the Undertaker to retreat. Back in Great Bright Heaven, Chen Changsheng used Little Wood to convince the Jade Completion Heavenly Emperor and Miao Shan that he was not the Undertaker, clearing suspicion and ruining their trap.

• Miao Shi destroyed Chen Changsheng’s special Magical Artifact, prompting Chen Changsheng to attack him with a Heavenly Emperor Level puppet.
• Zhang Zhi arrived to protect Miao Shi, and Jiang Bo Yue and others joined the battle against Chen Changsheng and his puppet.
• Miao Shan challenged Chen Changsheng with a Mystic Doors and Hidden Armor formation, and Chen Changsheng withdrew after breaking it as Great Bright Heaven’s army approached.
• Miao Shan praised the formation, then spat blood and ordered Great Bright Heaven’s forces to retreat.
• Little Wood was mistaken for Chen Changsheng and brought before Miao Shan and the Jade Completion Heavenly Emperor, who confirmed he showed no signs of possession.
• After Little Wood left the Imperial Palace, he retrieved a Bronze Life Lamp, and Chen Changsheng explained that the deception had cleared suspicion and defeated the trap against him.

Chen Changsheng explained why he believed Miao Shan and the Hidden Dragon Master had made Little Wood a backup plan to capture him. After three powerful auras left Great Bright Heaven, Chen Changsheng attached a device to Little Wood’s communicator and played a recording.

• Chen Changsheng took control of Little Wood’s body and explained that Miao Shan had helped Little Wood’s mother and may have guided her to name her son Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng argued that the Hidden Dragon Master had kept Little Wood in a suitable middle-ranking position as a possible way to draw in and capture him.
• Little Wood reconstructed Chen Changsheng’s theory but said he refused to believe it without concrete evidence.
• Three powerful auras departed from Great Bright Heaven, and Chen Changsheng attached a special device to Little Wood’s communicator.
• A recording began playing from the communicator.

Chen Changsheng revealed that Miao Shan had used Little Wood as a contingency and that Jade Completion Heavenly Emperor refused to grant Little Wood the marriage he wanted. Disillusioned with Great Bright Heaven’s rulers, Little Wood agreed to cooperate with Chen Changsheng and make the name “Chen Changsheng” resound throughout the Four Brahma Three Realms.

• Miao Shan and the Heavenly Emperors discussed Undertaker’s likely target and agreed to begin Restart the Epoch in a few days.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that Miao Shan had suspected Undertaker was controlling him, then played a recording of Miao Shan recommending Little Wood for a reward.
• Jade Completion Heavenly Emperor rejected Miao Shan’s suggestion to grant Little Wood a marriage, offering resources instead and leaving Little Wood devastated.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood how he had helped a prodigy and a sickly weakling stay together, explaining that people should have human warmth.
• Little Wood rejected his former loyalty to the Heavenly Emperors and agreed to cooperate with Chen Changsheng to change his fate and spread the name Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng sought a suitable cultivation method for Little Wood while using Little Wood’s identity to bargain for items at Great Bright Heaven’s stalls. After buying from several vendors, he summoned Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue for money, leaving the purchases awaiting payment.

• Chen Changsheng explained that Little Wood needed a cultivation method suited to his circumstances, since using one from Chen Changsheng’s collection could expose him to danger.
• Chen Changsheng offered four million Divine Source for a stall’s remaining wares after excluding its Ancient Broken Sword and beast bone, then used similar bargaining tactics with more than a dozen vendors.
• Little Wood grew alarmed when Chen Changsheng used his money to buy the goods, saying he had only a little over eighteen million Divine Source.
• Chen Changsheng told Little Wood he had messaged Miao Shi and the others for funds, and Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue arrived with eighty million Divine Source.

Chen Changsheng borrowed hundreds of millions of divine source from Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue to buy out an entire marketplace street, claiming its goods held several treasures. Miao Shan gave Jiang Bo Yue more money while privately weighing the Undertaker’s role in the realm’s fragile political balance; Chen Changsheng then used a damaged Jade Slip to sort through the purchases.

• Chen Changsheng borrowed Miao Shi’s and Jiang Bo Yue’s money and bought out half the street, then persuaded Jiang Bo Yue to seek another loan from Miao Shan.
• Miao Shan gave Jiang Bo Yue two hundred million divine source and praised Chen Changsheng, then privately reflected on the Undertaker, the puppet armies, and the danger facing the Four Brahma Three Realms.
• Miao Shan considered how he was using the Undertaker to weaken his rivals while cultivating Great Bright Heaven’s next generation, knowing a misstep could ruin his plans.
• Jiang Bo Yue returned with the money, and Chen Changsheng bought out every stall on the street, leaving Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue with four hundred and ninety million in debt.
• Chen Changsheng used a damaged Jade Slip to search the pile, pulled out more than a dozen stall cloths and some scraps, and told them to discard everything else.

Chen Changsheng used fragments and a Jade Slip to identify a ruined Nine Heavens Profound Yellow Battle Flag, astonishing Miao Shi and Jiang Bo Yue with his knowledge of its secret history. Jiang Bo Yue and Miao Shi rushed to retrieve more Jade Slips, while Chen Changsheng revealed to Little Wood that such artifacts existed throughout the Four Brahma Three Realms.

• Chen Changsheng stitched torn stall cloth together, revealing a half-restored Nine Heavens Profound Yellow Battle Flag that briefly released Imperial Might before breaking apart.
• Miao Shi recognized the flag and questioned Chen Changsheng, who explained its history and how Undertaker had reforged its fragments into cloaks.
• Chen Changsheng said a Jade Slip from Undertaker's lair had revealed the flag's origins, and Miao Shi admitted he had collected hundreds of similar slips.
• Jiang Bo Yue and Miao Shi hurried to the Imperial Palace to retrieve the Jade Slips, bringing Chen Changsheng and his purchases with them.
• In Divine Sense Space, Chen Changsheng told Little Wood that artifacts like the flag existed throughout the Four Brahma Three Realms.